Author: toolstolead

Notice I am saying “excellence,” not perfection. Perfection is rarely possible no matter how much effort is expended. I define excellence as doing the very best that I am capable of doing.

The pendulum swing for all our actions usually ranges from dropping the ball completely to a perfectionistic ideal that is impossible to achieve. Somewhere along the pendulum swing is “good enough.” Jim Collins wrote in his book “Good to Great” that “good is the enemy of great.” His point is that when we achieve good, most will think that is “good enough.” When that happens most will quit aspiring to greatness.

I want to suggest there is a place beyond good that I have called Excellent. St. Paul writes, “Whatever you do, work at with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” Colossians 3:23 You probably have read this verse or heard it quoted before. Let’s break that down a little. First let’s start with the statement: “Whatever you do.” There is a real sense of choice in that statement. It isn’t restricted to what you do at work, at home, or for your hobby. It might as well read: In EVERYTHING you do. One of the real barriers most face in living up to this standard is that they take on too much. We allow ourselves to become too busy and take on too many responsibilities We lack the ability to draw clear lines and set appropriate boundaries. Because of others’ expectations and an inability to say NO our lives have spun out of control so that excellence in anything is a fantasy. Instead of Excellence in all things, our motto has become Mediocrity in all things.  Given the fast pace of our lives, it can hardly be anything else.

When that is the case it affects our parenting, our marriages, our work, our health, our emotional stability, our devotion to God: EVERYTHING. I’m sure you can feel that the pace of your life is kind of like going downhill on a skateboard with everything flashing by so quickly and feeling only a precarious balance that wobbles toward disaster with every pebble that goes under the wheels. We have to find a way to slow down – I have more to say on this in other proverbs.

The second part of the verse says “as unto the Lord,” meaning that because of the reverence in which Paul is assuming his readers have toward God, that they would want to do their very best. Hopefully, you feel that way about God, but even if you don’t you can recognize what Paul is trying to say, “Make that person proud of you because of the effort you have made to do the best you are capable of doing.” I want to make God proud of what I do, but I have others that I have wanted to impress. I remember when I got my first professional job, I immediately called my Dad and Mom because I knew they would be proud of me. When I received recognition at work and shared that with my wife I felt validated because of her pride in me. Just as importantly, when I put forth my best efforts, even when it isn’t acknowledged by others, I now feel proud of what I have done and it increases my sense of self-worth. And when I cut corners I know that, too, and it also has an effect on my self-worth. I wonder if that isn’t a big part of what is affecting our society as a whole where we see so many struggling with self-worth issues.

Make this proverb, “Excellence in all things,” your personal motto. Build a reputation as someone who does things right; as someone who puts their entire energy into the task; their whole heart.  Consider every act from the perspective of how you would present your efforts to God for review. So this comes down to two key concepts. First, focus your efforts and limit your commitments, not only will you be able to do a better job on those things you focus upon, you will be happier and more fulfilled. Second, do your best so that you and God can be proud of what you have done? Your reputation will follow you so always strive for excellence.

I first heard this statement at a leadership conference I attended made by John Maxwell. Over the years my personal experience has convinced me that this is absolutely true.  Everything and I mean everything rises and falls on leadership! It is easy to see this wherever you go, from the grocery store to the restaurant to your work, your church, your club, or your home. There simply isn’t any area of your life that isn’t impacted by leadership, it impacts every area of your life, whether you are by yourself or surrounded by other people. Good leadership will provide direction and allocate appropriate resources toward reaching a goal. Poor leadership will create disgruntlement, dissatisfaction, and a general feeling of being without purpose.

Our problem is that when we talk about leadership we typically think about how others are or are not leading, usually whining about how their leadership is hurting us. The real starting point, however, has to be the person you see when you look in a mirror. That’s right YOU. If something in your life is not going well, assume you have the ability to improve the situation. Ask yourself, “What can I do to lead myself, and or others to a different and better solution or practice.”  If good things are happening, it is because someone is exercising leadership (it might be you!).  

Let me share a story with you. Years ago I noticed that we more often than not arrived as a family to church late and with a lot of arguing and harsh words. I began to realize that what I had been doing to lead in this particular situation wasn’t working. I wasn’t really leading at all, I was dictating and then frustrated when my orders weren’t being followed. That is often how leadership is perceived, that is, I give the orders and you do what I say, but that really isn’t leadership at all. So, I tried to think what it would take to get us all out the door on time and in relatively good moods. I deduced it hinged around getting everyone out of bed early enough so that we could all eat breakfast and get ready without having to resort to screaming and yelling. What would it take, I thought, to get everyone out of bed that would work week after week?

I had it, if the breakfast was something that was highly desired that might work. We did have a favorite breakfast that we rarely made but it had the potential to do just that. It was a family recipe I loved growing up and I knew my kids loved it too. So, I calculated what I needed to do to get myself up early enough to get me ready, so I could make this breakfast recipe early enough that if would achieve the ultimate goal. The breakfast recipe was for chocolate gravy and biscuits. My children LOVED this breakfast. The first week I did this it worked perfectly and I continued to follow this same pattern every week for the next decade until all the children had left home. It required a little sacrifice on my part in getting up earlier and making the breakfast but also became a great mentoring experience as eventually, the children joined me in making the breakfast.

This is a simple story but illustrates the fact that you first have to lead yourself. If you extend the same principle it applies to every aspect of your life.  If mediocrity prevails, it is because someone is not leading very effectively (it might be you!).  If bad things are happening, it is because someone is not leading (maybe you should start leading!).  This applies to your work, to your family, to your home, and especially to YOU!  Do not be a victim who blames circumstances or others for their predicament. Instead, choose to lead.  

This is a pet peeve of mine; we are much more likely to whine about why we can’t do something than to attempt to find a solution to solve the problem. We are surrounded by people that would rather be victims than take the extra effort necessary to lead themselves and step into the gap and lead others. You do not have to be a victim. You give away your power when you blame anyone for holding you back or keeping you down. Take a look at the problem and work backward to find a solution. If you are willing to pay the price you can succeed where others languish and fail. Look around you: everything rises and falls on leadership and you always have the choice to lead yourself even if you lead no one else. Do not accept the role of a victim to whom things happen, instead adopt the mindset of a leader who chooses to make a difference.

I have seen many different variations of a four-box grid that seek to clarify some aspect of human interaction and or performance. Some are incredibly useful, such as the Johari Window, Covey’s time management grid (7 Habits of Highly Effective People), or Edmondson’s psychological safety matrix (Fearless Organization), to name some examples.  Please pardon me if I burden you with another one. This one I’ve labeled the Production Matrix. As you can tell, I borrowed from other sources for the scales.

While I have drawn useful information from all of the above-mentioned research and much more besides, the connection, and dare I say correlation, between the environment of Trust that exists in the workplace and the level of Urgency that is present is one that seems obvious but is often ignored, and one that is incredibly important.

The scales in this matrix are between Complacency and Urgency (vertical), and Distrust and Trust (horizontal). Each scale has a tangible “feel” within the organization, while at the same time being nebulous and difficult to pin down. Even more, the variation on the scale can vary from department to department within the organization and sometimes even from individual to individual. In a general sense, the extreme boundaries of each scale paint a picture of the best or worst case scenario, one that never quite exists, so there is a range on both scales which affect production.

Essentially, Complacency can be perceived as a lack of motivation to excel. For the complacent person/department/organization, “good enough” is actually pretty darn good and anything more than that would be too much work. Urgency, on the other hand, expresses the emotions of caring about succeeding. Healthy urgency connects that care with a sense of succeeding with the mission and vision of the organization. Urgency carries the connotation of consequence, both positive and negative. The consequence will vary but the resultant mindset is to desire the positive consequence and avoid the negative. This generates a passion to win, as John Kotter says in his books.  Perhaps that is a workable analogy for this scale; those who play to win (with a sense of urgency), and those who just don’t seem to care if they win or lose (with a sense of complacency).

Psychological Safety is such an interesting topic. Amy Edmondson’s, and others, work in this area has been quite revealing of the importance of cultivating an environment of psychological safety for the best production to occur. Whether this is in the organization, department, or even at home, the freedom to speak up without fear of negative consequences unleashes the best dynamic of human interaction. When the environment is one of distrust and suspicion it can be virtually impossible to focus on the task at hand. Worry is the dominant emotion and it can be so overwhelming that it brings a type of paralysis at the farthest extreme. At the other end of the scale is an environment of trust. Trust is the currency of integrity and emotional health. David Horsager, the Trust Edge, and others have expounded on the absolute necessity of having and building trust. Combine that with the work on psychological safety and you can easily see in your mind the dichotomy between these two extremes.

Now let’s discuss each of the blocks in the Production Matrix.

The Fool. Those organizations/departments/individuals that fall into this block are experiencing a high degree of complacency and distrust. The goal for employees in this block is not production but mere survival. No one is happy, everyone is bickering and distrustful of each other. Anxiety is the norm. Little gets accomplished and what does get done is usually of low quality. When things reach this state the usual outcome is closure or radical change of leadership, which often includes major staff changes as well. When everything rises and falls on leadership, the existence of an environment where this is the state of affairs speaks volumes about the lack of competence of the leader.

Complacency coupled with the fear that a complete lack of trust brings is the result of inflexible, dominating leadership that is more concerned with blame and policy than people and mission. In my experience, it is often the leader who has been promoted too quickly who finds themselves in this situation. They do not have the depth of leadership knowledge or experience and find themselves pitted against their employees when they need to be working together.

The Jerk. This is a nice word for this kind of leader. In this block of the matrix, the focus has moved from complacency to having a sense of urgency. But it is an unhealthy urgency that is based on quota and appearing busy. It would be fair to say this is a dog-eat-dog environment where everyone is looking out for number one (themselves). The presence of urgency has changed the production dynamic, definitely increasing production, but also bringing with it some baggage. That baggage primarily takes the form of threat. Whereas in the Fool box there was disgruntlement, which has now been replaced with fear and genuine dread. Leadership is heavily invested in production AT ALL COSTS. If that means staff turnover, so be it. This of course impacts production, making it better or worse as the employees are either going out the door or are being on-boarded, often the same employee within the same month or week. Leadership here looks like the stereotype of the taskmaster. Whipping the employees to keep them working but caring nothing for their true value to the organization is how the leader functions. The Leader’s opinion of the employees is low, believing they will not give their fullest unless they are heavily monitored and policies are strictly enforced. Sadly, these types of leaders come about because of their own personal competence (which is usually high) and a lack of faith in others. They see themselves as the smartest people in the room and everyone else as inferior or lacking commitment.

Mediocrity. This block of the organization/department/individual is the block to be in if you are just working for a paycheck. The leader values the people in the organization but can’t quite bring things into focus around the mission. There is a high degree of trust between the employees and management. Everyone is contented and gets along. At the same time, there is little urgency, which means no one really cares if much gets done. The attitude is, “What gets done, is what gets done.” Apathy is the reigning emotion.

There is a hidden trap in this block, much like Ulysses experienced on the island of the Lotus Eaters. No urgency and high trust are a recipe for a slide into oblivion. For the organization, it is an unstainable model that insures eventual closure, but at least everyone is happy until that happens. For the individual, the long-term effect is a disconnect from purpose which is integral for human fulfillment.

The Star.  This block brings together the best in relationships and urgency. The leader of this organization values the employees and understands the importance of getting things done, i.e. urgency. I am connecting urgency with mission and purpose. If I believe in the mission and am committed to that mission then I am operating with a sense of purpose and purpose: it literally cannot easily be separated from urgency. As I described urgency above, urgency carries with it the possibility of consequence. If I am operating with purpose, then my goal will be to seek the positive consequences of fulfilling that purpose. This is passion. Passion when employed in an environment of trust will always blossom into individual meaning for the participants and high production for the organization.

Production exists because of people. How those people work together and understand urgency determines the level of production and their personal fulfillment. This requires leadership that will embrace the tension between these two different scales and purposefully work to bring each to the right balance within the organization.